MUSICK: Rose eyes return one shot at a time

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose works out with the team before an NBA basketball game between the Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, in Chicago. No date has been announced for his return to the lineup. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHICAGO – More than 90 minutes remain before another Bulls tipoff at the United Center, and Derrick Rose is the only player on the court.

It’s clear that Rose has been out here for a while.

About three-fourths of Rose’s red warm-up T-shirt is drenched with sweat. The perspiration darkens his shirt in a U-shape that dips to the middle of his stomach and his lower back.

As Rose practices jump shot after jump shot, he follows a specific pattern.

He starts by taking several shots from the right baseline, then the right elbow, then the top of the key, then the left elbow, and finally the left baseline. He then circles back in the opposite direction toward the right baseline, making every stop along the way.

The 60-minute countdown clock has yet to start, and most of the stadium’s 21,000-plus seats remain empty. A song by Train – “Hey, Soul Sister” – blares from speakers above.

Rose is hard at work.

Dribble, step, jump, release: Swish.

Dribble, step, jump, release: Miss.

Dribble, step, jump, release: Swish.

On and on it goes.

No brace covers Rose’s left knee, which has been the most talked-about body part in the city since he tore his ACL and crumpled to the court on April 28 in the Bulls’ playoff opener. Today, Rose shows no sign of a limp, but he works at about half-speed and does not cut side to side.

No one has put a date on when Rose will return. Whatever the date, it is getting closer.

Maybe Rose will be back when the Bulls return home Feb. 11 after a six-game road trip. Maybe he’ll be back Feb. 19 after the All-Star break. Or maybe the Bulls will play it safe and hold Rose out until March, which still would give him a few weeks to get ready for the playoffs.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is asked about the subject all the time, including Monday.

“He’s coming along,” Thibodeau said. “He still has a ways to go.”

As always, Thibodeau is tight-lipped about his MVP point guard. He acknowledges that Rose is taking part in certain aspects of practice. He offers little else in the way of details.